Analysis of global agricultural dataset

In 2013 Syngenta launched The Good Growth Plan for agricultural sustainability and set measurable goals for improving grower livelihoods and protecting environmental health. Part of the Plan includes gathering data from farms globally, to track and better understand the efficiency of production across a range of crop types. In 2016 Syngenta joined the Cool Farm Alliance to extend the range of farm sustainability metrics assessed in The Good Growth Plan. One goal was to use existing farm data collected by Syngenta, and input these to the Cool Farm Tool to determine crop carbon footprints on Syngenta’s sample farms.

To fill data gaps, 3Keel was commissioned to analyse data gathered from over 3,600 farms, and to convert existing data fields into machine-readable format suitable for input to the Cool Farm Tool. Data on variables including fuel use, electricity use, soil conditions and transportation were combined with external data sets and sector knowledge by 3Keel, and were successfully processed using the Cool Farm Tool. Project documentation provided by 3Keel showing the algorithms and underlying assumptions will be shared by Syngenta as part of its commitment to open data in agriculture.

The project was delivered in partnership with Kynetec, an independent research company responsible for the global data collection and data modelling in The Good Growth Plan. Dr Elisabeth Fischer, Head of Good Growth Plan, Digital Agricultural Solutions at Syngenta said: “We selected 3Keel because of their combined knowledge of data processing and on-farm sustainability. Their approach showed ingenuity and rigour, and their project documentation will enable our stakeholders to review our work and to make use of the methods if they wish. We were delighted with the support 3Keel provided throughout the project.”

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